In my last post, Beerfest. Prost!, I promised you more on the foodie culture in Munich.

Munich really surprised me in this department. Spain, Italy and Greece, where we had just spent the past month and a half, very much had food as a central part of our adventures (in fact, I’m desperate to go back to Italy literally just for a bowl of pasta), but these are not exactly countries with foodie cultures. The food is excellent and authentic, but eating out is not an ‘experience’ as you would describe it as such in, say, a typical Melbourne café. And then came Germany, which apparently is vastly different in this respect.

It all began on our first morning in Munich, when we left our apartment on the lookout for a brekky spot. The evening before, when lugging our (well, really, my) oversized suitcases, backpacks and carry bags to our apartment, I had spotted what looked like a cool café and just had to go back.

Using my not so great sense of direction, we eventually found it – Kaffebar Aroma: a funky décor, low-stooled, big mugged café. It was just what I felt like and just what I had been missing the past few weeks. Despite the fact that my various dietaries pose quite a few restrictions on eating brekky out (i.e. brekky features lots of eggs, dairy and avocado), I still love going out for a good ol’ breakfast. But breakfast in the former countries we had visited usually consisted of coffee and a croissant (which I’m definitely not complaining about, but basically breakfast options were pretty minimal). So, I was pretty excited to find this café, with a fully-fledged breakfast menu. Especially, that is, when I looked at the menu and noticed that they had ‘on tap’ lactose free milk! This was a fantastic discovery for this lactard, after having missed a good milky coffee for the last 2 months. This is hard enough to find in a Melbourne café, let alone in the middle of Europe (or so I would have thought). The staff were nice, the food was good and the coffee was just pure deliciousness. It even ticked the BF’s criteria: big mug = bigger portion sizes.

Whilst I don’t like to frequent the same place too often when travelling, given we were living in an AirBnB apartment, Kaffebar Aroma became our local morning coffee stop. Who says you don’t need coffee before beer…

Kaffebar Aroma interior

Kaffebar Aroma low stool exterior

We also went to a nearby bakery one day, which had enticed us inside by the colourful and delicious pretzel display in the window. We were deciding what to buy, and discussing my nut allergy with the staff, when a German local interrupted us. He kindly informed me that just down the street was a bakery which caters for allergies. Fantastic! Once we eventually found the place he was referring to, we were helped by their friendly staff into buying a selection of pretzels and pastries which were Allergian-safe. And let’s just say: Munich’s pretzels are significantly better than the much-anticipated-yet-highly-disappointing New York pretzels!

Pretzels everywhere!

My final great discovery was made when we were at the local grocery store, stocking up on some supplies for our apartment. They had a whole ‘dietary requirements’ section in the little store, packed full of lactose free, gluten free, etc items! I had a ball. *note: one of the Cadbury-equivalent, plain dairy milk chocolates, Milka, (which I saw in Munich and Amsterdam) contains hazelnuts.

At every other place we ate at in Munich, my allergies were pretty easy to deal with. All staff understood well, dealt with them appropriately and I never felt that it wasn’t taken seriously.

Even at Oktoberfest, there was plenty of food options (generally, pretzels, schnitzel and chips are pretty safe options). I usually ate at the food stalls outside the beer halls and the staff working there were also really friendly and helpful.

A few other food recommendations:

Hey Luigi: This place was right by our apartment. We ordered the veal schnitzel, which is served with roast potatoes and salad. This was seriously delicious and was a huge serving of food (which the BF loved). I would definitely recommend this place – cool atmosphere, nice staff and is open late!

Hey Luigi

L’Amar: We ate lunch here one day and I had a really great bowl of pumpkin risotto. This was like a delicious home cooked meal (that I had really missed for the past 8 weeks or so)!

For all you avid-Ancient Greek historians out there, I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but I am going to leave out my time in Athens from the writings of this Allergian’s journey Abroad. The reasons being that 1) I was extremely sick in Athens, so food was not really a highlight, 2) I didn’t really like Athens [#sorrynotsorry] and 3) my time in Athens was pretty short.

So onto my next adventure: the land of lederhosen, bratwurst, strudel, wiener schnitzel, pretzels and, of course, beer. That’s right, it was time for Germany, and, more importantly, Oktoberfest! My time in Germany was really more of a quick dabble – a 5-day stop in Munich, pretty much only for Oktoberfest – saving the rest of Germany and Eastern Europe for a future trip when I had more time (any excuse to hop back on that plane).

I LOVED Munich. I really didn’t expect to like it so much, nor Oktoberfest, but it really won me over. For many reasons.

First up, you have the magical, fairytale feels. The place is just mystical, from the buildings of Marienplatz, the Glockenspiel and the HUNDREDS of people (aged anywhere from 3 to 80!) wandering the streets dressed up in dirndl and lederhosen [granted this feature is (I assume, to my disappointment) limited to the weeks of Oktoberfest.. but hey, semantics].

Marienplatz

Lederhosen-lined streets

Then you have Munich’s cooler, edgier side. The BF and I stayed in an AirBnB apartment on Holzstraße, which was nearby a bustle of trendy cafes and restaurants. Coming from a city that has a coffee and foodie culture that rivals no other, Munich is the perfect way to whet those foodie suppressed appetites [that’s not to say that the food wasn’t excellent in Spain, Italy and Greece, but these aren’t exactly cultures featuring kale, coconut milk superfood smoothies or Broadsheet] and (good) coffee cravings that we’d been missing for the past 2 months [sorry, Spain, Italy and Greece, but your black coffees are just no comparison to a Melbournian, hipster barista-made single origin, choose-your-own milk customized coffee order]. More on the food department in my next post.

Pumpkin risotto

The next thing important aspect of Munich is its history. A city oozing with history, I would really recommend the free walking tour to learn of the strange Michael Jackson monument, WWII history and the history of the toilet facilities at Hofbräuhaus, and so as to be given the opportunity to rub (the Statue of) Juliet’s boob for good luck [of course].

Michael Jackson monument

The Statue of Juliet and her lucky boob

Finally, you have Oktoberfest. The magical, magical place of Oktoberfest. If I’m honest, I didn’t think that I would really enjoy Oktoberfest. I thought it would be pretty fun for the first few hours, but it is truly an indescribable event. The sense of togetherness and connection that I felt in the room of Hofbräuhaus, singing along with thousands of others dressed in their lederhosen and dirndl, was amazing. We made friends with people from all around the world, sang and drank with people of all ages [including playing ‘Have You Ever’ with an old American couple and their son who, let’s just say, will probably be forever scarred by his parents’ disclosures], drank steins full of beers and radlers [Prost!], danced on the tables to old-school favourites, like Living Next Door to Alice, YMCA, We are the Champions and, of course, Ein Prosit, and ate far too many pretzels. It was epic, to say the least, and I would do it all over again tomorrow.